Flush valve



June 7, 1949. l A, C, DO'BRICK 2,472,576

FLUSH VALVE vFiled April 22, 1946 2 sneeisfsneet 2 Zg 6.7 @9 @l @44 44 il i 2 ITT z! Z9 2g,.-

Patented June 7, 1949 1ST-AYES f The invention relatesdto Ijlush valvesand has ae a general Aobject to Lprovide anush valve of new .andllrlrroved construction.

I.Another olojeot o the invention is to provide alush valvehaving newandeimprovedmeans for assuring 'properoperationof lthe valvaparticwlarly olosingof thevalva. after a predetermined time interval.

Another `object is to provide. Aa flush `valve having-meanscomingfintoplaynpon oomplete opening of :the .vali/@positively `to.return the relief valve 4to..seated. position-.toy condition the mainvalve forreturnto olosedposition.

l:O therebjeets and advantages will become apparent from the v followingdetailed rdestription taken nin connectiony with Athe .accompanyingdrawings, in which:

l Fig; v1 4is a. longitudinal sectional view of. a. flush valveembodying :the features .of lthis invention.

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. lashowing the position of certain partsof the valveiinmediately aftermovement oi the valve actu-ating handleand before opening of Ythe main valve.A

Eig. 3 ishagaina View similar toFig. -1 ehowing the valve in fully openposition.

FigaI 4 and` 4a are detailed views of one of the parts of vtlne v alve.

5 'is an enlarged View or the Ableed valve sea Fig.- 6 is an enlargedView taken approximately along the line 6 6 of Fig.i 9.

Figs; 7, 8 and 9 are enlarged detailed views of the bleed valve means intheposition shown ,respectively in rigs. 1, ziende.

v lllfliile the invention is eneoeptilele o1 various mQtllS .and .@llve.CQQSWJQQUS t. is hrSh-Qwnfiin-wu hel'illaftere. ,desrbed in a preferredernlgqdiment A`It is` not intended, howevenrthat the inventionis to'be'lin'iitedtl'ierebyte the Speelde, reageerden. .dlSl'eSed On ,thecontrary,. it is intendedto oeverv all `rmodiiications ard..alternative` eerletruetiorls. ralllrie- Within `the Selritarld eeepepfthe. .inrerrtlerl as defined in the apeeededelallrrs- Saldern .1in thedrawlrlealorpurreses `of. dis- Glastra .the llas-l1..ralveeemprlsedfanelongated, generally. .erlladrlealfbedr .lllJlarlretermed .i11- teerallytllerewitll andl-nrl'eetlrle radlalls7thereffr-errl. .at .abeutthe .raided-let, ef .the body l e .afian-rrrdlarrreleetlol ll lerlrled Wltll .lrltejrrlal threads redatte.reattiva .ora and supply pipe. Formed in the body ill coaxially withthe proleetlerl l. .lfldarrarerllure Jarenlang-.With trarreleetiorllrthe...llllldirlettllelellcar end. eltheleedr l il, zas .viewed in. Eig,1f.orm i-ng.tl1e fluid. outlet I 4. Interposed n in Ithe Alclody l 53intermediate ,the ,inlet t3. and theontlet I 'Mherein jnstbelow .the-inletagain to. close ltl'xeivalve,v this reaction.v again 4belne. .bythe pressure of the supply fluid. AGellerally speaking, the piston unitifleomprises a inain valve `elernent ,i8 y(s`ee1ig .k 3) for kqooperation.:with the Jseat [6,.1notivating meansjfory this main @Weelement,relie valverneans I9 Vconi-.rolling ini atlen. o feperlirlemovemerltpl themain .ralvetarld bleed valve means, .generally.designated .2d lfor centrolllngthe .motivating mean n the .relating 0fthe .valve .lrrareater .rartllllarltl the rieten 'lrrllt ll.eelrlrrieedanintermediate. `or ,body eastlnel- It .generally .tubular.irl llaraeter sare for. a -dlametrleal bar .22. arda-lonaltudlrlalandherelnllpstarldng.tdbularlportlon 23 servirle housing fonthe'bleedvalvemeane 2,9, as willloereinaftenbe morelfuilvdeserilqed. At itsIl lowerend, asviewedinFg. 1, thefbodyeasting 2i i5 formed withlexternal threads24 for thethreadedrdcepa tion of, a member 25 adapted to lform lthe:main valveelement andto carry theseatior the relief valveineans. Tothat l,end,tl1e.member 25has an annular washer-likeportion IZi andextending longitudinallyand asnereanown,.upwardlvirm the outer.peripherypi thelportion 26, is aninternallythreaded Iange 2 nforthreaded engagelnentwithzthetnreads 25, and extendingvaxially in thel.opposite direction, ,herein downwardly frQr-fl the .periphery oftheWasher-like dertien 2S, .isl an annularegrternally threaded Y,ange 4.28.The flange .2.8.15 of such diameterthat andere than readily .receivablewlthlnthellarrae .l 5,. Prejeoting `inwardly lfrom, .tl'1e b ody llll.Alleowprojectine, axially.downwardlypaeed .radially .Olli- Wardlveftheflarlee @Ble aarnall lrrturned` .llarlge ze. Recevedbett/een. warhead2l? andthe llaneeisa laer-.lllreeerrlreeitlen Wllielrrnalres .theaetljlal eerltaet wlththe main; deat .ld .Retaining .the .rlrledeellrely in .peditlorron the. .dader Side .0r .elle member. `25` ls. a.Collard l .threaded .Orl .the .flange 28 andparrylngasrlder nertlenZ.fer .Gomeratlonwlth therlange .l 5to. ellide theriaterlrrllt ,l l WMU@1.716. YIVQS. .ill 941.13. QPF-11. PQStlQnr1ndlar rire., all 0f. rubber.or ral-4 Clamped between the body casting 2i and the member 25 is aseat-forming washer 33 of the auxiliary or relief valve means. As in thecase of the ring 30, the washer 33 is of some rubber or rubber-likecomposition. By the term rubberlike composition is meant any one of thevarious natural or synthetic resins or plastics or mixtures thereofsuitable and developed for uses of this character. Cooperating with thewasher 33 is the valve element 34' of the relief valve means. This valveelement is of conventional construction having a head 35 adapted to reston the washer 33 and a downwardly extending stem 35 which has slidablyprojecting from it a pin 31. Sunicient clearance is provided between thestem 36 and the fiange 28 to permit tilting of the relief valve elementabout a point on its periphery as an incident to movement of the valveactuating handle 38 operating in well known manner through the actuatingrod S9.

At its upper end, the casting 2! is threaded internally and has aradially outwardly projecting flange 40. Threaded into the upper end ofthe casting 2l is a tube 4| which also has formed thereon, at about themiddle thereof, a radially outwardly extending flange 42. Between theflanges 40 and 42 there is clamped a piston ring 43, generally Y-shapedin radial cross section, and again composed of some rubber orrubber-like composition. The ring 43 and the flanges 4i? and 42 form thepiston of the motivating means for opening and closing the main valve,the cylinder being formed by the upper half of the body i0. The upperend of the body I is closed by a cap 44 threaded thereon.

The bleed valve means, as already mentioned (Figs. -9), includes atubular portion Z3 upstanding from the cross bar 22 andforming a housingfor the valve means. The tubular portion at its lower end is formed withan axial bore or passage 45 and at its upper portion with a bore 4'6 oflarger diameter forming between the bores a shoulder 41 serving as avalve seat. The tubular portion 23 has diametrically opposed ports 48registering with a bore or passage 49 extending through the bar 22 so asto be in constant communication with the incoming fluid. The upper endof the tubular portion 23 has received therein a nut 5G containing anaxial passage 5| opening outwardly through the nut. At its inner end,the passage 5| is given a very slight outward are forming afrusto-conical valve seat 52. Within the tubular portion 23 is acompound valve element 53. This element has a head 54 and an upwardlyprojecting stem 55 passing with ample clearance through the passage 5lin the nut 50. At the juncture of its' head 54 and its stem 55 the valveis given a frusto-conical shape to cooperate with the valve seat 52,while at its tip 55 the valve also is conical for cooperation with theseat 4 1. Intermediate the conical portions. the valve head is formedwith a square flange 51 having rounded corners, the flange servingr inwell known manner as a guide means for the valve while at the same timepermitting flow of fluid past the valve. As best seen in Fig. 5, theconical valve seat 52 is formed with a pair of diametrically opposedsmall notches 53 which permit a very slight flow of fluid even when thevalve is seated on the seat 52. As best seen in Fig. 6, the conical tip56 is formed on diametrically opposite sides with a fiat 59 which servesthe same purpose as the notches 58, namely, to permit a slight ow offluid even when the valve is seated on the seat 41. The various parts ofthe bleed valve means are so proportioned that when the valve is seatedon the seat 52 the stem 55 projects outwardly beyond the nut 5S and sothat when the end of the stem is liush with the outer face of the nut 58the valve is disengaged from both seats.

In the past, restoration of the relief valve element to seated positionhas been effected through the medium of a spring or through relianceentirely upon fluid pressure. This has never been a very satisfactoryarrangement because of the tendency or possibility of the relief valvefluttering, under those conditions, and thus not producing uniformoperation. Where the valve is used in the control of salt water or inother fluids having a very highly corrosive action, spring provided toreturn the relief valve to closed position is subjected to suchcorroding action and thus may fail after a comparatively short period ofuse of the valve. It is a feature of this invention to provide for thepositive seating of the relief valve and the total elimination of anyspring means acting to seat the relief valve. Herein this means takesthe form of an element which comes into play as an incident to openingof the valve to fully open position. More particularly, this elementtakes the form of a fork or yoke 53 having a cylindrical band 84 at oneend and a pair of depending legs 65 (Figs. 4 and 4a) terminating inspade-like feet 5G. The band 34 is of a diameter to slide freely overthe tubular portion 23 while legs 65 and the feet 85 are suiiicientlywidely spaced so as to pass over and straddle the bar 22 to come to reston the upper surface of the head 35 of the relief valve element. Thelength of the yoke G3 is such that when the relief valve element isseated and the feet of the yoke are bearing thereagainst, the band 54projects slightly beyond the upper end of the'tube 4l (see Fig. 1).

The valve is completed by an adjustable abutment screw 61 which isthreaded through the cap 44 to be abutted by the end of the stem 55 ofthe bleed valve means to unseat that valve when the main valve is infully open position. Preferably the cap 44 is formed with a boss 68 andcarries a Cap nut 59 for concealing the adjusting screw 61. Formed inthe inner end of the adjusting screw $1 is a diametrical notch 'la topermit flow of fluid out of the bore 5I when the nut 58 abuts the screw61.

The advantages of the construction disclosed can best be appreciatedfrom a brief description of the operation of the valve. Let it beassumed, therefore, that the valve is closed as shown in Fig. 1. Thismeans that not only is the main valve element seated on its sea-t i6 butthe relief valve element 35 is seated and the bleed valve element 53 isseated on the seat 41. The valve body ID above the piston-forming meansis filled with uid under the same pressure as the fluid being suppliedto the valve. This is assured despite the fact that the bleed valveelement 53 is resting on its seat 41 for there is an opportunity forequalization of pressures on opposite sides of the piston-forming meansbecause of the provision of the flats 59 which maintain constantcommunication between the inlet of the valve and the top portion of thevalve body. As a result, any momentary changes in pressure due toactuation of some other valve connected to the same line or source ofsupply will not serve to unseat the valve.

Let is be assumed next that the actuator 38 for the valve is moved and,moreover, that this movement has. '.iust-.occunred. "The various .parteofthefvalve will-then be in ,the 4position shown inzfFg. ,2.Af"Ehe-relief' valveyt will beati-lts to open iposition, :therebypermitting the fluid trapped sin -the body :lo above kthe .piston unitil to'lfiow' :out through `the passage 4provided by the flange 2s. @Withsuch relief of .this .'iluid, a pres sure differential will,f,ofcourselybe set up. a result, ,therewilhbe;attempt atincreased flow` of fluidifiomfthe -rinlet` Il il th-rough the passage til and the bleedvalvemeans. However, auch' flow of .fluidlupwardly throng-h the bores-l5and i5 will lift the valve element 53 and seat it on the seat 52. Thus,.the flow through the bleed valve will then belmitedto the very smallamount that can pass through the not-ches 5B, Also resulting from thisopening of the relief valve and the pressure differential accompanyingit will an openingfof the main valve through upward move ment of thepiston unit il. Because of thepressuredifierential, the higher pressureof the in" coming,fluid, though acting on the smaller ef festive;pressure area, will be able to ,the piston unit l'l to the limit of itsmovement in an opening direction.

Thellimit of this movement is herein deteru minedtbyabutment of the yoke6ft-with the cap 44. This limit of movement of the piston unit, that is,the fully open position of the valve, is shown in Fig. 3. It willreadily be apparent from the foregoing description and from aconsidera-- tion of the drawings that, as the piston unit il approachedthe fully open position of the main valve means I8, the top of the yoket3 abutted the cap Gil and thus, through engagement of its feet 65 withthe valve element 35, positively forced the valve element to seatedposition. Under these circumstances, not even the force of the waterflowing through the valve and impinging against the pin 31 can serveeven momentarily to tilt the valve 35. In the movement of the pistonunit upwardly, the stem 55 of the bleed valve 53 struck the adjustingscrew 6l and thus the valve 53 was forced to a position intermediate thetwo valve seats 4l and 52 so that full rate of flow through the bleedvalve means was established. As the space above the piston unit fills upwith fluid, that fluid, being now at the same pressure as the supplyduid, is able, because it is acting on a larger effective area, to forcethe piston unit gradually downwardly toward closed position of the mainvalve, as shown in Fig. l. As the piston unit moves downwardly a sucientdistance, engagement of the valve stem 55 with the adn justing screw 6'!is, of course, broken thereby'permitting the valve element 53 again toseat on the seat 52. From that time forward, of course, the closing ofthe valve will be slower because of the restricted ow of fluid to thebody of the valve above the piston unit.

With this positive seating of the relief valve the length of time thatthe valve remains open will always be uniform because there will not beany fluttering of the Valve element 35 as in the prior constructions andhence no loss of fluid which must rst be replaced before the main valvemeans can start to close. The means by which this positive seating ofthe relief valve is accomplished is of simple construction, quickly andreadily formed. from a piece of brass or bronze tubing by a few simplecuttingl and forming opu erations. Assembly of the valve is facilitatedand in other respects the employment of the yoke 63 not only improvesthe operation of the valve but results in a more readily manufacturedvalve.

Itelaimasrny .iorentionr 1.. uA :flushfyalve comprising, 11111Combinations body hav-ins aninlzetand.;anoutlet for theiudtolbexcontrolled; means Within the body .forming avmaingvalye seau; apiston -unit reciprocablegin said; body findentheinfluence offluidpressure difrerentialsiiueludins.- a main Valve element forconperationwith;said/main valve-.seat and relief valve means includna avalve element controlling a passage leading from the-end of said pistonunitremotefrom said :main valve element Yto .the outletoofsfsaid*bodyanda vrigid yoke-like element supportedwbysaid reliet valveelementtand operable asf,V an; :incident ;to movement of sa-id pistonunit to fully open position of said main valverto ,.abut=sa .p0rti0nw 0fsaid body andY positively to seatsaid relief valve element.

. 2.,;Ai1lushv valve comprising, in combination, an elongated-.generallycylindrical body havng,an nletwintermedate; thefends ,ofv said body, a,dischargeoutletatl lone-end anda closure at the otherend,` means withinthe body forming-an annular mainyalve ,seat-intermediate the inletendtheoutletofsaid body, a pistonunit reciprocable ginssaidbody underthe influencev of fluid pressure;differentials,including a main valve.61ementtfor; recuperation with said i Amain valve seat, means.forasupplriusruid from the inlet tov :the closed end of said bodyincluding a diametrical bar in said piston unit having a passage thereincommunicating at one end with the inlet of said body and at the otherend with the closed end of said body and relief Valve means including atiltable valve element controlling a passage leading from the closed endof said body, and a rigid bifurcated element adapted to straddle saidbar and rest on said tiltable relief valve element, said bifurcatedelement upon movement of said piston unit to fully open position of saidmain valve abutting said closure and positively seating said reliefvalve element.

3. In a flush valve having a body with an inlet and an outlet, meanswithin the body forming a main Valve seat, a piston unit reciprocable insaid body under the influence of fluid pressure differentials includinga main valve element at one end for cooperation with said main valveseat, relief valve means including a tiltable valve element controllinga passage leading from the end of said piston unit opposite said mainvalve element to the outlet of said body, a diametrical bar and anaxially extending tubular portion, said bar and said tubular portionhaving a passage formed therein for effecting communication between theinlet and the end of said piston unit opposite said main valve element,and rigid means for positively seating said relief valve element as anincident to movement of said piston unit t0 fully open position of saidmain valve comprising a band loosely surrounding said tubular portionand having a pair of bifurcations extending therefrom and adapted tostraddle said bar and bear against said relief valve element, said rigidmeans in the seated position of said relief valve element projectingaxially beyond said piston unit.

4. A flush valve comprising, in combination, a body having an inlet andan outlet for the fluid to be controlled, means Within the body forminga main valve seat, a longitudinally movable piston unit reciprocable insaid body under the influence of fluid pressure differentials and beingin sealing relationship with said body, said piston unit including a rstvalve element for seating on said main valve seat and relief valve means1ocated within the piston unit and movable therewith including a secondvalve element for controlling a passage leading from the end of saidpiston unit opposite said main valve seat to said outlet of the body,and an elongated rigid element having one end resting loosely on saidsecond valve element and projecting at the other end around a portion ofsaid piston unit to a point beyond said unit with said other endnormally being adjacent to but spaced from a portion of said body, saidelongated element being operable as an incident to movement of saidpiston unit to fully open position of the main valve to abut againstsaid body portion and positively close said relief valve means.

5. A ush valve comprising, in combination, a body having an inlet and anoutlet for the fluid to be controlled, means Within the body forming amain valve seat, a longitudinally movable piston unit reciprocable insaid body under the influence of fluid pressure differentials and beingin sealing relationship With said body, said piston unit including a rstvalve element for seating on said main valve seat and relief valve meanslocated Within the piston unit and movable therewith including atiltable second valve element for controlling a passage leading from theend of said piston unit opposite said main valve seat to said 8 outletof the body, and an elongated rigid element having one end restingloosely on said tiltable second valve element and projecting at theother end around a portion of said piston unit to a point beyond saidunit With said other end normally being adjacent to but spaced from anabutment member, said elongated element being operable as an incident tomovement of said piston unit to fully open position of the main valve toabut against said abutment member and positively close said relief valvemeans.

AUGUST C. DOBRICK.

REFERENCES CITED rlhe following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,539,455 Young May 26, 19251,868,520 Brooks July 26, 1932 1,878,001 Sloan Sept. 20, 1932 2,007,652Kocour July i9, 1935 FOREIGN PATENTS Humber Country Date 57,509 SwedenSept. 16, 1924

